In a season when the politics of name-calling and division has enjoyed some success, up to 200,000 are expected in Washington D.C. Saturday to honor “the dream of a united America” – and hundreds from across Illinois will be there.

Some 1,500 Illinois residents will be boarding buses heading to DC for the One Nation Working Together rally on Friday, October 1 at 6 p.m. at Teamster City, 1645 W. Jackson.

Dozens of local groups participating in the rally include the NAACP South Side Chapter, SEIU Illinois State Council, Illinois Main Street Alliance, Logan Square Neighbors for Peace, Jobs with Justice, Access Living, Action Now, Citizen Action, Teamsters, and United Auto Workers.

Nationally, major civil rights, labor, peace and environmental groups are joining in the call for a million new jobs, a world-class educational system, and end to racial profiling and discrimination, immigration reform, workers’ rights, a clean environment, an end to women’s wage gap, and peace, according to the One Nation mission statement.

“We want to show a progressive vision of America, one where we come together and work together,” said AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka.

Along with Trumka, U.S. Representative Danny Davis and Elena Segura of the Archdiocese of Chicago will be given leadership awards. Presenting the awards will be last year’s recipients, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and Bishop John Manz.

Founded in 1991 as the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Workers Issues, Arise Chicago organizes the religious community to address workplace injustice and support workers seeking unionization.

The group operates the Building Bridges program, preparing women and people of color for building trade apprenticeships, as well as Arise Chicago Workers Center, working with low-wage and immigrant workers, particularly around issues of wage theft.